Miles, Citron lead No. 9 Irish past Boston College 72-59

Associated PressFeb 2, 2023, 10:22 PM EST

Erica Denhoff/Getty Images

BOSTON — Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron had already scored 10 straight points to put away Boston College when they turned their attention to other things.

“I told Sonia I needed two more assists for the double-double. And she was like, `All right, I’ve got you,”‘ Miles said after helping No. 9 Notre Dame beat BC 72-59 on Thursday night.

“That’s just kind of our communication on the court,” said Miles, who found Citron for baskets on the next two Irish possessions to complete a 14-0 run – with all 14 points from Miles and Citron. “We just really play off each other really well.

Miles scored 22 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Citron scored 23 for the Irish (18-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Maria Gakdeng scored 16 points, T’Yana Todd had 13 and Andrea Daly scored 10 with eight rebounds for BC (14-11, 4-8). The Irish beat BC at home 85-48 on New Year’s Day but hadn’t won in Chestnut Hill since 2019.

“This is such a tough place to play,” said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, whose team faces No. 16 Duke next. “We’ll celebrate it until about 12:30, and then we’ve got film. Tomorrow we start focusing on Duke.”

BC came within five points, 55-50, before the Irish ran off 14 points in a row – nine by Citron, and five by Miles. That put an end to what had been a back-and-forth game in which the Irish opened big leads and then frittered them away.

“I always feel like we’re close,” BC coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “They’re young; I think consistency comes with experience.

“I think it’s a big improvement from the first time we played Notre Dame,” she said. “I still want to see more, and I want to see us grow up as fast as humanly possible because I think we do have a dangerous team when we going well.”

Notre Dame led by 11 in the first quarter and held a 38-30 lead with two minutes gone in the third. BC scored 13 of the next 18 points, capitalizing on back-to-back Irish turnovers to tie it 43-all with three minutes left in the quarter.

But Natalija Marshall put back the rebound of her own miss, Miles drove to the basket, Maddy Westbeld added a pair of baskets and then Miles stole the ball and found Citron on the fast break to make it 53-43.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame bounced back from their first league loss of the season, a 69-65 defeat at North Carolina State on Sunday. Now they face No. 16 Duke.

The Eagles, who beat Pittsburgh on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak, were looking for their second victory over a Top 25 team this season, having also beaten then-No. 10 N.C. State on Jan. 5.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Hosts No. 16 Duke on Sunday.

Boston College: Visits Syracuse on Sunday.

BC beats No. 20 Clemson 62-54; Tigers fall into ACC tie

Associated PressFeb 1, 2023, 12:32 AM EST

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closing two minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College beat No. 20 Clemson 62-54 on Tuesday night.

Jaeden Zackery added 13 points for the Eagles (11-12, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). BC held Clemson to one field goal — and that came with 18 seconds left — in the final 13:16.

Hunter Tyson led Clemson (18-5, 10-2) with 22 points and Chase Hunter had 12. The Tigers fell into a first-place tie atop the ACC with No. 6 Virginia.

The Eagles used a 5-0 spurt — with T.J. Bickerstaff hitting a free throw and getting a driving layup — to pull ahead 50-45 with just over five minutes to play.

Clemson sliced it to 50-47 before Aston-Langford made his two big baskets. He followed that by making two free throws with 32 seconds left.

Trailing by 10 midway into the second half, the Tigers went on a 10-0 spree, tying it at 45 when RJ Godfrey hit both ends of a 1-and-1.

The Eagles had opened a double-digit lead twice in the opening six minutes of the second half, the later 45-35 on Prince Aligbe’s foul-line jumper with 14:12 to play.

BIG PICTURE

Clemson: Off to a solid start in conference play, the Tigers were tested on the road for the second straight game after edging Florida State by a point on Saturday. It hasn’t been easy for them away from home with a 4-3 record and with three away matchups against North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia to go, they’ll need to get it straightened out of they’re going to won the ACC regular-season title.

Boston College: The Eagles proved when they play defense that they’re a tough out in coach Earl Grant’s second season. A little more offense could make them very dangerous for top ACC teams to play.

ARRIVING LATE

In the first half, Clemson’s man-to-man defense smothered the Eagles’ offense for the opening 10 minutes, holding them in single digits in scoring until just about the same time the student section finished filling up late, bringing some energy to a very quiet building.

BC’s players then responded, closing the half with a 22-4 spree that turned an 11-point deficit to a 30-23 halftime edge.

SIDELINED

Both teams were missing key players. Guard Brevin Galloway, Clemson’s fourth leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, was sidelined with an abdominal injury. For BC, guard DeMarr Langford Jr., who logs big minutes at the point, was out with a knee injury.

UP NEXT

Clemson: Hosts No. 23 Miami on Saturday.

Boston College: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

Clemson starter Galloway will miss time after surgery

Associated PressJan 27, 2023, 7:32 PM EST

John Byrum/Getty Images

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson starter Brevin Galloway is expected to miss games for the 24th-ranked Tigers after having surgery on his groin area Thursday.

The 6-foot-3 Galloway has started 20 of 21 games after transferring from Boston College this past offseason.

Galloway posted on social media that he’d had the surgery. Clemson coach Brad Brownell confirmed in a text to The Associated Press that Galloway had the operation.

Galloway said in his post he will be in uniform soon. He is not expected to play at Florida State on Saturday.

A fifth-year player, Galloway has averaged 10.6 points a game this season. He’s second on the Tigers with 55 assists and 18 steals.

The Tigers (17-4) lead the Atlantic Coast Conference at 9-1 in league play.

Clemson is already down two experienced players due to injury.

Point guard Chase Hunter, who started the team’s first 18 games, has missed the past three with a foot injury.

Guard Alex Hemenway, in his fourth season, has missed the past nine games with a foot injury. Hemenway was the team’s leading 3-point shooter (27 of 54) before getting hurt.

Nance scores 21 as North Carolina survives Syracuse, 72-68

Associated PressJan 25, 2023, 12:26 AM EST

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Pete Nance scored 21 points, capped by a dunk with 19 seconds left that put North Carolina in front for good as the Tar Heels pulled out a hard-fought, 72-68 battle with Syracuse on Tuesday night.

Joe Girard hit from beyond the arc to put Syracuse up, 68-66 with 1:28 left, but after Nance hit the first of two free throws to get North Carolina within one, he missed the second free throw and in the scramble to gather in the rebound, the ball caromed toward the end line and Girard dove to save it. Instead, he flicked the ball right to Nance, who dunked for the lead.

Judah Mintz tried to drive the lane for a go-ahead layup but was called for an offensive foul that was upgraded to a flagrant foul. North Carolina took possession and Caleb Love converted three straight free throws to put the game away.

Armando Bacot scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four assists for North Carolina (15-6, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Love finished with 15 points and five assists.

Girard hit 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points to lead Syracuse (13-8, 6-4). Mintz scored 17 points and had three steals and Chris Bell hit 3 of 5 from deep and finished with 15 points.

North Carolina has a week off before playing host to Pitt on Feb. 1. Syracuse plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Virginia Tech beats Duke 78-75, snaps 7-game slide

Associated PressJan 24, 2023, 12:11 AM EST

Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Grant Basile scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half, Sean Pedulla had 16 points and five assists and Virginia Tech beat Duke 78-75 on Monday night to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Virginia Tech (12-8, 2-7 ACC) hadn’t won since topping Grambling on Dec. 17. The Hokies are now 5-1 in their last six match-ups with Duke at Cassell Coliseum.

After a timeout with 35.3 seconds remaining, Virginia Tech dribbled down the clock before Michael Collins Jr. made a jumper from the free-throw line for a 77-75 lead. Duke’s Tyrese Proctor was short on an open 3-pointer and Collins was fouled. Collins made 1 of 2 at the line with 3.9 seconds to cap the scoring.

Duke attempted a half-court pass, but Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor intercepted it and ran out the clock.

Cattoor finished with 15 points, on five 3-pointers, and two steals for Virginia Tech. Collins had six points.

Kyle Filipowski scored a career-high 29 and recorded his 10th double-double this season with 10 rebounds for Duke (14-6, 5-4). Proctor and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points apiece. Whitehead missed most of the second half with an apparent leg injury and was on crutches at the end of the game with a wrap around his lower left leg.

Duke went four-plus minutes without a field goal late in the second half, making just two of its final 10 shots. Proctor drained a 3-pointer with 38.9 seconds left, snapping a string of six misses from distance for Duke, to tie it at 75-all.

Both teams play again on Saturday. Virginia Tech hosts Syracuse and Duke plays at Georgia Tech.

Notre Dame’s Dara Mabrey out for season with torn ACL

Associated PressJan 24, 2023, 12:10 AM EST

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame guard Dara Mabrey announced on social media that she tore her ACL, ending her college career with the seventh-ranked Irish.

The graduate student hurt the right knee nearly 2 minutes into the game when she stole a ball and was racing down the court. She was fouled and went to the floor and immediately grabbed her knee. The school said Mabrey also had a a tibial plateau fracture.

“On Sunday against UVA, I suffered an ACL injury that will end my final season at Notre Dame,” Mabrey said on Twitter. “While it certainly is not the way that I wanted to go out, I am confident that everything happens for a reason. I know I will find peace with my situation as I recover in the coming months.”

Mabrey has played 135 in her career which started at Virginia Tech for the first two seasons before she came to Notre Dame where her two older sisters starred. She started 18 games this season and 125 in her career. She’s averaged 10.9 points and 2.4 assists over the years.